Iran attacks on Gulf damage Dubai airport, ignite fire at iconic Burj Al Arab hotel

Blasts heard in UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar day after Pakistani national killed, luxury properties struck; Qatar reports at least 65 missiles, 16 injuries

Fresh blasts were heard across the Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama on Sunday morning after a day of Iranian strikes in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks.

AFP reporters heard blasts in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates; in Bahrain’s capital Manama; in Oman; and in Qatar, where AFP correspondents saw thick black smoke rising on the clear morning horizon in the south of the city.

The new explosions came after a day of deadly Iranian strikes in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, as well as hits on military bases and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf.

They also came as Iran continued to fire volleys of missiles at Israel Sunday morning. A barrage the previous day toward the Tel Aviv area leveled an apartment building, killing a woman and injuring dozens of people.

Qatar said Sunday morning it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Israeli and American attacks on the Islamic Republic have prompted the theocratic regime to retaliate with waves of strikes against Arab countries that are aligned with the US, many of them host to American military bases.

Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Saturday morning, one person has been killed and dozens wounded across the various Gulf states.

At Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, one person was killed Saturday and seven were injured, by what the airport said was shrapnel from an intercepted drone that had targeted the site. Additionally, four staff were wounded at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic.

One of the terminals in Dubai’s airport appeared badly damaged, and footage from the scene showed passengers hurriedly evacuating the premises as dust filled the air. The Government of Dubai’s Media Office claimed that the airport only incurred “minor damage” in the incident, which has been contained.

On Sunday morning, Oman’s state news agency reported that the Duqm commercial port was hit by two drones, injuring one expatriate worker. Debris from another drone fell in an area near fuel tanks at Duqm, but there were no casualties or material losses recorded from that incident, the agency added.

Later in the day, a Palau-flagged oil tanker was hit off Oman’s Musandam peninsula, injuring four people, the country’s maritime security center said. The 20-person crew of the Skylight tanker was evacuated after the attack, the Oman Maritime Security Centere said in a post on X.

Initial information indicated injuries of varying severity to four of the crew, composed of 15 Indian and five Iranian citizens, it added.

The incidents on Sunday marked the first time targets in or near Oman have been hit amid the wave of retaliatory strikes by Tehran on Gulf states.

All the oil- and gas-rich Gulf countries were targeted by the Islamic Republic within the first 24 hours of the fresh conflict. Saturday’s sudden attacks caused widespread shock among the region’s diverse, expat-heavy populations.

Missiles hit upscale development, luxury hotel

Explosions also rocked Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah man-made island, as drone debris caused a fire at the Burj Al Arab ultra-luxury hotel.

Two witnesses on the Palm — an upscale, palm tree-shaped residential and leisure development — heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from a five-star hotel. The Dubai media office confirmed an “incident” in a building on the Palm Jumeirah caused a fire and injured four people.

Hours later, a second blast exploded close to the same building, after what looked like a drone plunged from above, another witness saw.

Debris from an intercepted drone sparked a fire at the base of the Burj Al Arab, a sail-shaped building sometimes touted as the world’s first seven-star hotel. The Dubai Media Office said the incident caused a “minor fire” on the hotel’s outer facade, with no injuries reported.

Falling debris from an interception also set off a blaze at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, which hosts US warships and is capable of handling aircraft carriers.

A Pakistani-national civilian had already been killed earlier in Abu Dhabi by Iranian missile debris. He was one of the many foreigners living in the UAE, who comprise roughly 90 percent of the country’s population.

The UAE’s Defense Ministry said the vast majority of the 137 missiles and 209 drones fired at its territory by Iran had been destroyed or intercepted.

Scared for the future

In Qatar, officials said early Sunday that 16 people have been injured since the fighting began.

Doha had said late Saturday that Iran launched 65 missiles and 12 drones at the Gulf state, most of which were intercepted; at that point, eight people had been injured in the salvos, with one of them in critical condition. Authorities had, at that point, responded to some 114 reports of falling debris.

Qatar’s Al Udeid base, the region’s biggest US military base, was among the targets on Saturday.

“We are scared of what the future is for us now, and we can’t say how the next few days are going to be,” Maha Manbaz, a nursing student in Doha, told AFP.

A drone struck Kuwait’s international airport and a base housing US personnel was targeted. Three Kuwaiti soldiers and 12 other people were wounded, authorities said.

After Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported missile strikes, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that no American naval vessels were hit, damage to US facilities was minimal, and no US casualties had been reported.

Residential buildings were also targeted in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, with officials saying firefighters and civil defense teams had been dispatched to the scene.

“The sound of the first explosion terrified me,” said a 50-year-old retiree living near the US base in Manama’s Juffair area, where residents were quickly evacuated.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar warned they reserved the right to respond to the attacks. Conflict is unusual in the Gulf, which has traded on its reputation for stability to become the Middle East’s commercial and diplomatic hub.

“The Gulf states are sandwiched between Iran and Israel, and have to bear the worst inclinations of both,” said Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University. “Iran’s attacks on the Gulf are misplaced. They’ll only alienate its neighbors and invite further distancing from Iran.”

The US military carried out nearly 900 strikes across Iran within the first 12 hours of the operation, according to an unnamed US official cited by Fox News. The strikes managed to eliminate Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which was confirmed by Iran overnight.

Both US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the current offensive aims to spark an overthrow of the Islamic Republic, with the latter giving a televised statement vowing to create the conditions for the Iranian people to “free itself from the chains of dictatorship.”

Iran has fired about 300 missiles in the same 12-hour period, the official added. Many of the missiles were aimed at Israel, but explosions also shook the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Earlier that day, sirens blared intermittently across Israel as the Home Front Command urged civilians to stay close to bomb shelters and avoid non-essential travel. It also said that all educational activities, gatherings and work, except for essential sectors, would be prohibited.

It marked Israel’s second flare-up with Iran within a year after the countries fought a 12-day war in June 2025, which saw daily exchanges of missile barrages that left 32 Israelis dead and over 3,000 hospitalized. The war came to a close after the US launched a devastating bombing campaign on three Iranian nuclear sites.